JJayB

Oh, if you want to loose weight, Just bolt on a set of aluminum doors and a hood. Might be a bit pricey now. But it is the equivelent of lipo suction, the other 2 lbs here and 4 pounds there is like Jeanny Craig.

Jean

Greg,

Thanks, I guess we were starting off a different base, I use the official DIN weight as my reference, which is ca. 3450 lbs. so that would need a 350 lbs reduction to get to 3100 lbs. So you reduced about 197 lbs from stock. Battery weight savings 40lbs It is the next 150 lbs that become expensive and inconvenient for a street car.

I know Chris well, he is very knowledgeable, but my point is that for a race setup ( minimum -3.0 camber fr and -2.5/-3.0 rear) you need to invest quite a bit of money in suspension upgrades, and change the HDs, and then you go for another 5k USD.

The thread seems to be heading towards track mods rather than street mods, it is a totally different ballgame and my initial post does not apply then.

jimhsu

anything else from the non-track or mostly-street people?

any more opinions on cat bypasses, exhaust/muffler upgrades/bypasses? worth the money? scare the neighborhood dogs? recommended types?

short shifter is a good one: I think I might like that tactile improvement.

Red9

There goes his 10K!!!!

troppo

Jean: please explaint the difference between DIN weight and the 3297 number I see everywhere? Actual weight at last corner balancing was right in line with my numbers btw...
Also, I believe the full race corner balancing/alignment was a reflection of the setup tools, not the resulting setup. My car is setup for the street, I would not want a race setup (for my purposes) with the kind of camber you are talking about...

Jim: the muffler bypasses are from GHL and still allow use of the factory tips. great quality!

Jean

Greg,

DIN includes all the accessories/tools, 90% gas tank full and one person on board (75Kgs if I am not mistaken), this is the international standard, and the weight I was referring to. Basically I was thinking of a 350lbs savings to get to 3100 lbs. To get there I had to move to 2WD, remove the sunroof, put Lexan, remove rear seats, and do most of what you have done, it was quite expensive.

I only mentioned the race alignment because it was highlighted in your post, and I know it would cost quite some money to be able to get it done, nothing that would fit the 10K USD bill.
I agree with you that a race alignment is far from desirable on a street car.
Cheers

ScottMellor

Oh, did I forget to mention that I am including a set of hollowspoke wheels and 4 used Pirelli Corsa tyres with Frank?
(The tyres are not mounted, and I have two left fronts and no right rear.)

pmf

Jimhsu,

I found the Bilstein PSS-9 to provide very good improvement for street use, and they can be easily tuned in their stiffness.
Strut brace is really worth to consider for improvement in compression/release.

As for the brakes, I would suggest to install braided steel lines and replace oil with high temp one, may be you want to install air ducts to cool brakes (note that you have to modify ducts to go round the radiators); do not do anything more than this, brakes are excellent.

You can consider to install a good sport air filter, don't really improves performances but for sure the sound is times better.

Anyway the most important thing where to put money is the alignment (carefully check the camber); this is by far the best improvement you can get (and 993TT needs it every 10k Km). Everything else without this is just wasting time and money.

ECU to 430hp requires additional oil radiator and this is money.
Even if you want to spend more than 10k, do not go to 450hp changing turbos, this will completely change the car behaviour and I do not see it for the street use you mentioned.

Exhausts... you better not change them without fine tuning the ECU, so money goes, as just said, very quickly and I would have it done carefully.

Hope my experiences help.

Paolo

TT Surgeon

Just do the suspension , exhaust, +/- ECU, those are the biggies.

jimhsu

Thanks for all your suggestions. Though I am not sitting one a pile of cash waiting to drop all kinds of toys, it helps to get an idea what can one expect and to use that info to consider the "stock now, my mods later" versus "tastefully modded all dirty work done" question.

I am arranging to have a stock TT PPI'd later this week. The thing about this TT is that it's a private car, no stories, and would leave about $10000 to $15000 for mods on my own compared to Scott's (I can't imagine anything that I would need to be done to Scott's). Does not mean though that an option like Scott's Frank is out of question....the more I think about all of the above suggestions.

Bradford

Scott's car is a fine example and already has such nice mods. I would seriously consider it if I were looking. Good Luck!

hal m

I am VERY happy with the mods I have done. See my signature. Muffler by-passes are loud until 3000 rpm, but give the car a real personality. I don't think you need a brake upgrade or extra oil cooler unless you are going to do a bunch of serious track work. I ran in 100 degrees at Thunderhill with no problem.

ca993twin

You would be far better off getting a car like Frank (Scott Mellor's car) that is PERFECTLY setup, than trying to piece together something on your own. I can vouch for Frank... it is properly done and maintained.

jimhsu

I know that Scott's car would be fantastic....The other side of my brain, however, is asking me whether I would be happy with a stock car, maybe with just a few key mods? And if so, which ones would be the first key mods that you all suggest? Thus this thread.

I am sure even a "mere" purely stock car exceeds my capabilities as a driver. I might never scratch beyond its surface.

The other thought: I almost feel guilty to just go straight to the end of the book, to grab a perfectly set up car as my first Porsche.... shouldn't I have to research a little and do the mods one by one to feel like it's mine? I know this last bit is a little silly, but a stock car with lower price, as long as it's not with major mechanical problems, will allow me some 10-15K$$ to play with it beyond the stock form.

Scott's car though is already done and sorted out and I think $15K wouldn't even begin to pay for his mods....hmm.

jimhsu

Is muffler bypass a big risk for getting pulled over and a citation, just wondering? What setup do you have for the bypass?